Hair-curling device

ABSTRACT

The device has a slitted spool and a slitted sleeve thereabout, each having a longitudinal slot registrable with each other, the spool being detachably mounted on a hollow handle having a slot registrable with the slots in the spool and sleeve. The handle contains a longitudinally movable comb extendable to comb a lock of hair and retractable for drawing the end portion of the lock into the registered slots. The handle and sleeve are manipulated to dispose the lock end portion between the spool and the sleeve, and anchor the same therebetween, further manipulation of the handle turning the spool and sleeve as a unit for winding the lock of hair into a curl coiled about the sleeve. A selectively positionable clasp holds the coiled hair in place as close to the scalp as desired.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to hair dressing devices and moreparticularly to a novel device for winding a lock of hair into a curl ina relatively rapid and facile manner. Various devices have been devisedfor curling hair, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,225,454; 2,600,730;2,608,977; 2,785,689; 2,785,690; 2,788,006 and 2,966,158.

The present invention provides a hair curling device of simpler and moreeconomical construction by which an operator with a little practice cancoil a lock of hair into a neat, evenly formed hair curl, which curl canbe disposed closely adjacent to the scalp of the person whose hair isbeing curled, and additional adjacent curls can be formed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improvedform of a device for curling hair in a simple and efficient manner.

Another object is to provide a hair curling device of simple andrelatively inexpensive construction.

A further object is to provide a device which forms a lock of hair intoa layer of relatively evenly spaced hairs and coiling the layer into aneatly formed curl.

Still another object is to provide a hair curling device which avoidssplit and crimped ends and permits close adjacent curls to be formed.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention areachieved by the provision of a hair curling device including a slittedspool and a slitted sleeve disposed thereabout, each having alongitudinal slot therein which are registrable with each other, thespool being detachably mounted on a hollow handle having a slotregistrable with the slots in the spool and sleeve and containing alongitudinally movable comb extendable to engage and comb a lock of hairinto a layer of relatively evenly spaced hairs extending from theproximal or scalp end of the lock to the distal or free end portionthereof, the comb being retractable for drawing the free end portion ofthe lock into the register slots, after which the handle and sleeve aremanipulated for disposing the lock and portion between the spool and thesleeve and holding it there, further manipulation of the handle servingto turn the spool and sleeve as a unit for winding the layer of hairinto a curl coiled about the sleeve. The spool has a flange at each endwhich prevents slippage of the hair to the sides, one of the flangeshaving an arcuate groove in the periphery thereof, the groove receivingan arcuate member which is rotatable relative to the spool and mounts aclasp for holding the coiled layer of hair in place, one end of theclasp being pivoted to the arcuate member and the other end detachablyconnected to the other flange, the movable mounting of the claspproviding for selective positioning of the clasp close to the scalp endof the lock as desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a hair-curling device in accordance withthe present invention, and showing the comb means thereof in retractedposition;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational side view of the device of FIG. 1,with parts broken away and showing the comb means in extended position;

FIG. 3 is a larger scale elevational end view of the device, with partsbroken away to show structural details;

FIG. 4 is a view somewhat similar to FIG. 1, but showing the device inengagement with a combed lock of hair in an early stage of ahair-curling operation; and

FIG. 5 is an elevational side view of the spool and sleeve with a lockof hair curled therearound and detached from the handle.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a hair-curlingdevice 10 embodying the principles of the present invention andincluding a substantially cylindrical slitted spool 12 disposed aboutwhich is a substantially cylindrical slitted sleeve 14, the spool beingdetachably mounted on a hollow handle 16 within which comb means 18 ismounted for longitudinal movement. The comb means is extendable as shownin FIG. 2. The spool 12 is preferably made of a suitable hard material,and has its side slitted to provide a longitudinal slot 20. Sleeve 14 issimilarly slotted to provide a longitudinal slot 22 therein, and ispreferably made of a flexible material, such as plastic, for easyslipping thereof over the spool. The sleeve is also provided with aplurality of perforations 24 or otherwise foraminously formed. The spoolis also foraminous. The slot 20 in sleeve 12 is registrable with slot 22in spool 14, and the handle 16 has a substantially cylindrical endportion 26 that is provided with a longitudinal slot 28 that registerswith the slots 20 and 22, as shown in FIG. 1.

The spool 12 is provided with end flanges 30 and 32, the latter havingan outwardly facing shallow groove 34 in the periphery thereof. Receivedin the groove 34 is the inner edge portion of an arcuate member 36,better seen in FIG. 3, which can be turned relative to the spool. Themember 36 mounts a hair holding means or clasp 38 by means of a pivotalconnection 40, the clasp having a spring finger 42 engageable with theflange 30 which has a lip 44 suitable for the purpose (see FIG. 2).

Inviting attention to FIG. 2, the comb means 18 extends from acylindrical mounting 46 slidable in the handle 16. Connected to themounting 46 is one end of a coil spring 48, the other end of which isconnected to a pin or post 50, suitably secured in the handle 16.Secured to the mounting 46 and projecting through the slot 28 in the endportion 26 of the handle is a control element 52 normally disposed inthe slot between the ends of the flange 30. The control element isadapted to be engaged by the thumb of the operator for moving it throughthe registered slots 20, 22 and 28 and extending the comb means 18, asshown, against the tension of the spring 48 which urges the comb meansto retracted position. In extended position, the comb means is used tocomb a lock or tress of hair before the curling thereof. The handle 16is provided with a rattail end 54 which is used to block off the tressof hair to be combed and curled. Spool 12 is frictionally fitted to thecylindrical end portion 26 of the handle 16 for easy detachmenttherefrom. The positioning of the spool on the handle is determined byengagement with a snap-ring 56 disposed in a groove 58 formed in thehandle 16.

FIG. 4 shows the hair-curling device 10 in engagement with a combed lockof hair H and the sleeve 14 turned to confine the distal end portion ofthe lock and grasp it between the sleeve and the spool 12, in an earlystage of the hair-curling operation. With the slots 20, 22 and 28 inregistration, the lock is combed with the comb means 18 in extendedposition as shown in FIG. 2. After the lock has been combed into arelatively thin layer of generally parallel evenly spaced hairs, thedevice is manipulated to move it away from the scalp S of the personwhose hair is being curled until the comb means engages the free ordistal end portion of the hair layer, after which the comb means isretracted and the handle is moved to dispose the distal end portion ofthe layer in the registered slots. With the clasp 38 in unclaspedcondition, and disposed as shown in FIG. 4 for disposition in the lefthand of the operator of the device, the thumb and forefinger of theoperator engages the sleeve 14 fur turning it relative to the spool 12in the direction of the arrow A (see also FIG. 3). The device ismanipulated to move it away from the scalp for drawing the end portionof the hair layer through the comb means and simultaneously turned formoving the edge of the slot 20 of the sleeve 14 over the end portion ofthe hair layer, thereby grasping and anchoring the end portion betweenthe sleeve and the spool. Thereafter, the device is manipulated to turnthe spool and sleeve as a unit, while moving the device toward thescalp, maintaining sufficient tension on the hair for winding it aboutthe sleeve and spool and coiling the hair into a neatly formed curldisposed as close to the scalp S as desired, as shown in FIG. 5. Theclasp 38 is then turned for selective positioning thereof with respectto the spool, after which the clasp is locked in place to hold thecoiled curl. using additional sleeved spools, the operation is repeatedon adjacent locks of hair. It is understood, of course, that suitablesolutions are appropriately applied during the operation, and afterdrying, the clasp is opened and the curled lock is freed from thesleeved spool and recoils into a neatly formed curl.

It is believed that the operation of the hair-curling device of thepresent invention is readily apparent from the foregoing and is brieflysummarized at this point. A lock of hair is blocked off by the rattailend 54 of the handle 16 and combed with the extended comb means 18 intoa layer of hair H, the distal end portion of which is then disposed inthe registered slots 20, 22 and 28. With the clasp 38 open and disposedin the hand of the operator, the handle and sleeve 14 are manipulated tofree the hair end portion from the comb means and grasp it between thesleeve and the spool 12 and to coil the hair layer thereabout. When thehair coil is close to the scalp as desired, the clasp is closed to holdit in place.

There has thus been provided a hair-curling device of simpleconstruction which operates in a relatively rapid facile manner for theefficient forming of a neat curl.

Although the present invention has been herein shown and described inconsiderable detail in what is believed to be the most practical andpreferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that manyvariations thereof are possible and the present invention is not to belimited to such details, but is to be accorded the full scope of theappended claims.

What I claim is:
 1. A hair-curling device comprising:a substantiallycylindrical spool-like body with a flange at each of its ends and havinga longitudinal slot; a sleeve-like member disposed about said body andturnable relative thereto for confining an end portion of a lock of hairbetween the member and the body after which the member and body areturnable as a unit for winding the lock of hair thereabout and formingit into a curl, said member being substantially cylindrical and having alongitudinal slot registrable with the slot in the body; a hollowstructure detachably mounting the body and having a slot registrablewith the slots in the body and member; comb means mounted forlongitudinal movement in the hollow structure and disposable in thebody, said comb means being extendable for engaging the lock of hair andcombing it into a layer of substantially uniform thickness andretractable for disposing the free end portion of the combed lock ofhair in the registered slots; and curl holding means movably mounted onthe body for engaging the combed lock of hair adjacent the scalp endportion after curling.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein said curlholding means includes a clamp detachably connected to one of saidflanges and pivotally connected to an arcuate structure mounted forturning in a groove formed in the other of said flanges.